Roger Clemens, the recently retired former Yankees ace pitcher and full time Class A jerk, has used his commitment to his wife (pictured) and family as a defense of his own character, which has been impugned by steroid allegations. And, you know, by his own general asshole demeanor that causes him to do things like throw a fastball at his own son. But today the Daily News says that Clemens carried on a ten year affair with train wreck country singer Mindy McCready—although they never trot out any real proof. And their lead, which seems to imply Clemens is a statutory rapist, is a little problematic:

Roger Clemens carried on a decade-long affair with country star Mindy McCready, a romance that began when McCready was a 15-year-old aspiring singer performing in a karaoke bar and Clemens was a 28-year-old Red Sox ace and married father of two, several sources have told the Daily News.

But by "began," the paper apparently means when they met, when McCready was performing in a Florida bar during spring training. One anonymous source calls it "love at first sight," but there's no mention of any proof that they had sex (and Clemens' lawyer denies it. Which means nothing). This part is pretty suggestive, though:

During another Big Apple excursion, the two holed up in the trendy SoHo Grand and later partied with Monica Lewinsky and Michael Jordan. McCready, according to a source, even bummed a cigar off His Airness to give to Clemens. There were personal love missives to Clemens hidden in McCready's album liner notes.

So who is Mindy McCready? Apparently she's the Amy Winehouse of country music! She has a huge arrest record, including prescription fraud and "a near overdose while pregnant." Here's her mug shot [via TMZ] from a 2007 DUI:

This image was lost some time after publication.

Her debut album in 1996 went multi-platinum, but it's been all downhill for her since then. And, she was "briefly engaged" to actor Dean Cain! Let's hope the drugs and alcohol didn't influence her decision to hang out with Clemens, who, I must remind you, is a grade A asshole. Here's a McCready music video of her biggest hit from happier days: